On the planet's surface is a wonderful land of forests, mountains, oceans, lakes, plains, meadows and a lot of other peaceful land. The sun is bright as it is on Earth. The whole land is exactly like Earth for some reason, only, hardly any humans around. Still though, it is a peaceful planet. There is quite a few exotic creatures going around as well, but most of them are exactly the same as what Humans have. Rabbits, Deer, Fish in thousands colors and size, Insects and a whole lot more. This was exactly like Earth.

On a cliff near the edge somewhere, rising above a lake, letting the sun shine upon and hardly any clouds to spoil the moment with the breeze going along smoothly and the grass waving around peacefully, lies a creature not seen on Earth.

A very different and graceful creature with its belly lying on the grass, its tail in a snaky kind of position not moving an inch. Its wings folded into the sides to be more comfortable in the position the creature was in. The tip of the tail has a sharp scythe like object, no doubt can be used as a weapon. It is a black creature with a magenta underbelly and chest and neck. The wings have the same scythe like objects, like the tail, at the peak of them. The head has 6 ivory horns, 3 on each end and 3 more going down the back of the neck. It has choker jewelry and 2 bracelets on the front arms and another one for the middle of the tail. This creature is not even on Earth and it looked like a female. It was no doubt a Dragon.

As the Dragon peacefully sat enjoying the warm sun and gentle breeze, she was relaxing and enjoying the moment. She laid her head down slowly for a nap on the soft grass, sighing as she did. Absolutely nothing could break this moment...except for the strange roaring noise in the sky.

"Huh?" she woke up immediately to violent noise of something about to crash, like a large asteroid.

She stood on her paws and looked up in the sky to see the cause of the noise. Then she suddenly watches a fire that burned through. As it came through the clouds, it was clearly visible to the Dragoness. The metal of the object was also clear and hard to miss but the front of it was burning from the atmosphere entry. She gasped in amazement and fear at the same time as she did not know what the object was or where it came from. As it closed in on to the ground, the Dragoness took a few steps back as the ground started to shake.

At an instant, the anomaly crashed with a huge bang going off, and the Dragoness was blown back by force. The ground shook like an earthquake, but the explosion was as big as a small nuclear bomb. Smoke covered the air, blocking out the sun, taking over some of the land. The bang could have been heard for miles on end. As the smoke started to clear, the Dragoness got up from the violent force of the impact. She went back to the edge and saw the object that crashed smoking and scarred from the burnt entry.

"What…is that?" the Dragoness asked herself.

She was speechless. She looked around the wreckage to see if anyone was gonna check it out. No-one was going to come around and have a look at it. She raised a brow and decided to herself.

"Fine, I'll check it out myself…I'll tell the others later but one sign of danger, and I'm long gone".

The Dragoness took flight, lifting off from the edge of the cliff and flew straight towards the metal object with determination. As she flew closer, the metal object got incredibly larger, making the Dragoness look like an ant. As she landed next to it, there were metal pieces everywhere, and most of it looked very pretty. As she walked around it, the metal pieces soon turned to dead body piles. Her jaw dropped at the sight of unknown dead creatures.

"By the Ancestors...what are they?" she was paralyzed by the sight.

She slowly walked around the bodies and metal. Then she came to one of the creatures that were still breathing. She stepped back and got into a defensive position, head almost touching the ground, as if she was about to pounce on prey.

The creature looked up slowly, still lying down. His eyes opened to see his dead brothers lying all over the ground. He slowly crawled to a white one. He flipped over the body, to see one of his greatest friends of all covered in blood and not moving one bit.

"Rtas...no"

Arbiter was in both anger and sorrow. His best comrade who fought with him in his Arbiter career was dead in his hands.

"Rtas, I will avenge you brother...I will make each and every Brute suffers for what they have done...they have your blood as well as the rest of our brothers...and for that...THE BRUTES MUST DIE!" Thel shouted at the top of his lungs.

The dark grey clouds appeared and covered the earth and the crash site in a torrential rain. The Shadow of Intent was no more. Almost every Elite was dead. Arbiter laid Rtas's body in peace. Blood was almost everywhere. Some of it was going around Arbiter's legs as he was on his knees looking at the other bodies. His head bowed in shame, dishonor...and sorrow. It looked like he was about to cry for the first time in his life.

He then slowly turned to his left and saw the black Dragoness staring right at him. Her mouth was closed and she was no longer in her defensive position. Her emerald eyes stared into the Elite's orange eyes. Both of them stared at each other as if it was for hours but it was merely minutes. Arbiter looked at the rest of its body. Never in his life has he seen a creature this exotic. He looked at the special features such as the scythe like tail tip, claws on each paw, unknown markings on the forehead and left and right arms and even the base of her tail.

"Where did it get those markings?" Arbiter thought to himself.

"Where did it come from?" the black Dragoness thought to herself.

Arbiter slowly stood up making the Dragoness back up a few feet. Thel looked at every detail of the body and then thought,

"No doubt it's a female...I wonder if she's friendly?"

The Dragoness inspected every aspect of the two legged creature.

"Its legs are almost the same as the cheetahs of Avalar...only more bulky" she thought herself once more.

She also noticed the armour he was wearing, no doubt it looked ancient and ceremonial. He only had 4 fingers, 2 long ones and 2 short ones on each end of the hands. He had a strange object on his right thigh leg. It looked very strange with the same kind of markings as the armour the creature was wearing. His neck was quite long connecting his head to the shoulders.

She prepared to speak, but Arbiter beat it to her first.

"What is your name? What are you?" Thel asked the four legged beast.

"I will only answer if you tell me your name and what you are!" she replied back with a threatening voice, but Arbiter did not notice that bit. The Elite gave a small smile

"Playing hard to get I see...very well...my name is Thel Vadam...I am a Sangheili warrior, but you may call me an Elite. Also, call me Arbiter" Thel answered her.

Since it had not attack her yet and gave out his name and what he is, it is time to reveal her identity.

"Hello...Arbiter...my name is Cynder, I'm a black Dragoness" she gave out her identity.

"Very nice to meet you...Cynder. What is your race like...please tell me, I am interested" Thel wanted to know more about Cynder and her race. She did not want to answer back, but the Elite must be trying to be friendly.

"Well...my race, the Dragons, are powerful creatures born to wield elements of different types, depending on their color. Most of them are only allowed to wield one element, but I can use 4 and they are Poison, Fear, Wind and Shadow, due to my...my past" she spoke clearly with pride, but she sounded depressed on her last few words.

"Well...sounds like a very special race indeed..." Thel respected Cynder and the info she gave him.

She smiled, but now is her chance to ask him the same question, but another thought came on her mind.

"I wonder if Spyro or the Guardians know anything about Elites...where they came from?" she said in her head.

"Help..." called out an unknown weak voice.

It caught Arbiter's attention, and he ran to where the voice called out and Cynder followed behind him. He came to the ship navigator Shin Tarscar, who Arbiter warned before the Brutes showed up. Next to him was a Zealot classed Elite, wearing Crimson armour and very high tech. The Zealot was trying to pull his leg from under a large piece of metal.

The Zealot looked up and called out to Arbiter. "Thel! Help me here!" He shouted from the top of his lungs.

Thel ran towards the Zealot, leaving Cynder to watch the rescue unfold. Thel and the Zealot grabbed both of Shin's arms and pulled as hard as they could. Shin roared at the pain he was getting. It was still no use, he was budged in there tightly.

"By the rings! One more person might be enough to pull him out" the Zealot suggested.

Thel looked behind him. Cynder may have a thin like body structure, but her arms and legs were muscular enough to help pull Shin out from under the metal.

"Cynder! Please help us get our navigator out!" Thel was desperate to get Shin's leg out of the metal.

She was hesitant at first, but they were trying to save someone, and they needed her help. She ran over to them with quick speed and desperation.

When she got to the Sangheili group, the Zealot backed away.

"Agh! What is that thing?" the Zealot shouted. Cynder backed away in fear with her eyes shocked at the size the Elite.

"Is this really the time? HURRY UP!" Thel ordered the both of them.

Cynder wrapped her front arms around Shin's waist and the Zealot went back to his arm.

"Ok...3...2...1...PULL!" Thel counted down.

All 3 of them pulled as hard as they could to get Shin out. Shin roared at the top of his lungs which almost made Cynder back away, but she continued pulling as hard as she could.

A slight hint of movement meant Shin started coming out of the metal. Pure purple blood was obviously seen around his trapped leg. Cynder saw the sight and almost felt sorry for the Elite.

"C'mon, just a little more!" Arbiter said trying to boost morale.

Shin's leg was really starting to come out of the metal now. Slowly he kept on seeping out, only his foot remained. Everyone went in for the final pull.

"Now!" Thel shouted.

Suddenly, Shin's foot popped out of the metal piece. Everyone fell back. Arbiter and the Zealot got back up in the instant and went to help Shin up, leaving Cynder once again. She fell on her backside. When she got up, she saw the Zealot helping Shin walk again.

"Shin, can you walk?" the Zealot asked curiously.

"I...I think I can...thank you...all three of you" Shin thanked Arbiter and the Zealot and even Cynder.

"Which brings me to the question...what are you?" the Zealot asked Cynder.

She did not answer, she only backed up. She did not like the size of this Elite, it was twice the size of Arbiter, and its mandibles looked more drooped down, showing its teeth at the front. It was more muscular than both Arbiter and Shin combined.

"ANSWER ME YOU LITTLE BITCH!" the Zealot insulted Cynder.

She backed up even more, got defensive and started growling at the Zealot. The Zealot was getting impatient and was about to pull out an energy sword, but Arbiter got in front of him first.

"Fool! She has already answered to me, Cynder here is not a threat unlike the Brutes, and that goes for the rest of her race. We are stuck on this planet and so now you will have to stick to my orders, I'll explain about her later but right now, we need to leave this area!" Thel suggested.

The Zealot did not trust Cynder, but if Arbiter does, then he has no choice but to stick with it. Even it is a pain to think about.

"Ok then Thel...what do you suggest we do? It is too dangerous to stay with the Shadow, or even go so far with this rain bearing down on us?" Shin asked his superior.

"Ok...we need to find some shelter, then we will hold out until dawn, then...I have no idea..." Thel suggested.

The 2 Elites nodded at the suggestion, as it seemed the only way to go.

"If I may interrupt" Cynder said grabbing the Elites attention. She got a little stroke of fear with all 3 of them looking at her, but she continued, "I know a nearby cave where we can rest. We can stay there if you like?" Cynder asked the group of Elites.

Shin and the Zealot looked at Arbiter to say his decision. Thel has trusted Cynder ever since he has known about her and the Dragoness's species. So far, there is no threat between him and her. His decision was made.

"Ok then Cynder...show us this cave, and I will make sure...Zealot, what is your name damn it?" Thel does not know who the Zealot's real name is.

"It's Darst Kino sir" the Zealot revealing his name. Thel turned his back towards Cynder again.

"I will make sure Darst here will stay away from you, because I do not like the interactions with you two" Thel said to the both of them.

"Hmph, that's a fact" Darst murmured.

Cynder looked at Darst with a hint of threat. Darst looked back at her and let out a low growl. There was no doubt they did not like each other.

"Cynder, please lead the way" Arbiter asked her politely

She shifted her head back to Arbiter and nodded. Cynder turned around to lead them to the cave. The Elites followed close behind her, making sure to not get lost through the torrential rains.

They have been walking for a few minutes. The wreckage of the Shadow of Intent was still there, but a little bit far away now. It was scrap metal from this point of view. The shiny silver color of the mighty ship was now a dull grey. The lights that were on the ship before are not there anymore. The group is walking through a meadow where the rain covered all, but a mountain could be seen a few miles away. Something came on Shin's mind and strolled next to Arbiter.

"Thel, what if the Brutes try to search for survivors from the Shadow, there is no doubt in my mind that they are trying to find you for what you've done to them in the war. When they find out you have survived the crash, they will search this entire planet until they find and most likely kill you" Shin warned Thel

The Arbiter thought for a moment. He has killed many Brutes after the separation from the Covenant, including the Brute Chieftain Tartarus. The Brutes will spill his blood for the fallen Chieftain.

"If that time comes Shin...do not get in the way" Arbiter replied back to Shin with a commanding kind of voice.

"But Thel! They will rip you limb from limb, they will make you suffer until you die a slow death, we cannot allow that. You are a hero of our race!" Shin was worried because he has seen firsthand at what the Brutes do to their prisoners.

"If you try and help me, they will kill you on sight. I do not want to see any more of my brothers' die by the disgraceful hands of the Jiralhanae" Thel saying the Brutes real species name.

Shin sighed in defeat. Thel was telling the truth. Brutes kill Elites on sight, especially when they hunt in packs. Although Elites are strong and brave, Brutes are God's brainless, limb ripping creations. Their weapons are just as bad. Cynder heard the 2 Elites conversation and she started to get shaky and scared.

"That does not sound good. If what they say is true, there might be trouble coming" Cynder thought to herself.

They continued on through the meadow until they came to A large mountain with a cave on a side. This must be the cave Cynder told the Elites about.

"This is it, we can sleep here until dawn so get cozy" Cynder told them.

"Thank you Cynder" Thel giving his appreciation to her. She smiled back at the Elite.

All 4 of them entered the cave and got out of the dampness of the rain. The Elites wiped the rain off their armour with their hands while Cynder simply shook it off her body like a cat or dog would. Her wings got the worst of the rain so she lifted them up and flapped them to get rid of the water.

"So she can move her wings, she can fly then...incredible" Thel thought to himself. He was quite stunned of what she is capable of, and he would like to learn more about her.

Shin and Darst both sat next to each other in front of one of the caves walls. The cave is not that big, but it is enough for everyone to sleep in. The 2 Elites fell fast asleep in the instant, thanks to exhaustion and the events they went through. Arbiter was almost awake and watched Cynder go to a corner and she curled up there. Arbiter sat down just a few feet away from her, giving her personal space that she might want. She looked up to see Arbiter near her, but he paid no attention to her. He only stared at the wall, probably thinking the events he has been through. This was her chance to learn more about him.

"So" Cynder said to Thel, grabbing his attention and looking right at her. She remembered the object on his right thigh.

"What's that on your leg Arbiter?" she asked him about his blade.

"This?" Arbiter said, pulling the handle out. "It's called an Energy sword, every Elite warrior must wield one once they have become a master at using it" Arbiter explained the object. "Would you like to see it activate?" he asked Cynder.

She nodded slowly. He did a swift movement in his arm, causing the sword to activate and bringing out its light and energy of power. Cynder backed away from it instantly. She has never seen a sword that comes out if its handle like that. It looked like a deadly weapon as it is noticeable to see a tiny bit of lightning come off the sword.

"I...I'm at a loss for words...how does it activate like that and how is a sword even like that?" Cynder was curious about this weapon.

"The Energy sword is able activate at swift movement of the arm, letting the weapon itself know it is time to come out of its shell and release its energy upon the enemy...and the reason it does this is because my race is high technologically powerful, as you saw my ship crash onto your planet's surface. That was piece brilliant architecture of war, until...until that crash..." Thel started to remember the events in the space battle.

"I see...you must be a really strong and powerful race on your planet then" Cynder complemented the Elite and his race.

"We are...but I have never seen my planet in a long time unfortunately...the last time I saw was when I was quite young and that was years ago" Thel continued.

Cynder then saw the sad look in his eyes and she doesn't blame him, to not see your home in a long time is very depressing.

Arbiter gave another swift movement of his arm and the sword retracted back into its shell and placed it back on his right thigh.

"I'm going to get some rest now Cynder...wake me...when its dawn" Arbiter said to her.

She gave a small nod and the Elite turned his back to her and went into a deep sleep. Cynder just looked at the Elites. She is sleeping with another race she has little knowledge about, except what Arbiter told her. Then another thought came to her.

"I hope the guardians do not think this race as a threat, even if they are from a different world, does not mean we should make them a threat. I wonder if Spyro can sleep a night without me. I hope he is ok" Cynder thought to herself. She was talking about other Dragons.

She curled up tighter and laid her head on the hard cold ground, falling into a deep sleep afterwards.

Now things have gotten interesting. I think I got Arbiter and Cynder to know each other well. I am probably going to take longer to make the next chapter, thanks to some complications at school. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I like making these things longer. Annihilator out =)